TinyWeb 1.9

TinyWeb is a lightweight and efficient web server designed for Windows systems. This program offers a simple and fast solution for regular (TCP/http) and secure (SSL/TLS/https) web-servers. The executable file size is a mere 53K, making it extremely small and lightweight. Moreover, TinyWeb requires no configuration other than through the command line, making it easy to use.

One of the best features of TinyWeb is that it is free for both commercial and non-commercial use. Installing the TinyWeb server is also straightforward; all you need to do is create a shortcut in the Startup menu with the appropriate properties. The target should be set to c:\www\bin\tiny.exe c:\www\root, while the start-in directory should be set to c:\www\log.

Unlike other web servers, TinyWeb is neither windowed nor console application, nor is it a Windows service. Once started, the tiny.exe will appear in the Task List, and there is no way to stop TinyWeb except for the End Task operation. TinyWeb operates through command-line options. The first parameter (mandatory) is a path to the home directory (root) directory. The second parameter (optional) is a port number, while the third parameter (optional) is a dotted-decimal IP address to bind the server.

TinyWeb handles HTTP requests with ease. The default directory root file name is index.html, but if this file is not found in a directory, TinyWEB then looks for index.htm. If none of these two files are found, a file with the name index and extension from the PATHEXT environment variable is executed as a CGI from the cgi-bin directory. The only GET, HEAD, and POST commands are handled.

Additionally, TinyWeb executes CGI applications and passes the following environment variables to the application: PATH_INFO, PATH_TRANSLATED, REMOTE_HOST, REMOTE_ADDR, GATEWAY_INTERFACE, SCRIPT_NAME, REQUEST_METHOD, HTTP_ACCEPT, HTTP_ACCEPT_CHARSET, HTTP_ACCEPT_ENCODING, HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE, HTTP_FROM, HTTP_HOST, HTTP_REFERER, HTTP_USER_AGENT, QUERY_STRING, SERVER_SOFTWARE, SERVER_NAME, SERVER_PROTOCOL, SERVER_PORT, CONTENT_TYPE, CONTENT_LENGTH, USER_NAME, USER_PASSWORD, and AUTH_TYPE.

The program handles "Location" and "Status" CGI script output directives, although "Location" may only contain a URL, as local file redirections are not supported. The samples to test CGI are provided in the cgitest.zip package within the TinyWeb archive.

TinyWeb also keeps Apache-compatible The Common Logfile Format log files: access_log, agent_log, referer_log, and error_log, which can be analyzed by any compatible log analyzer. Logs are kept in a directory from which TinyWeb was started, so ensure that the "Start In" directory of TinyWeb properties is set correctly.

Finally, TinyWeb allows using CGI instead of index.html. If an URI with an empty name part is specified (only path part is specified), and no index.html or index.htm is found on this path, TinyWeb can run a CGI application. For example, if PATHEXT is set to .pl, and /mydir/ is requested, /cgi-bin/mydir/index.pl will be run. TinyWeb caches these CGI handler application pathnames, so if you remove index.pl and replace it with index.exe, you should reload TinyWeb to see the changes.

Overall, TinyWeb is an excellent solution for those looking for a lightweight and straightforward web server for Windows systems. It is efficient, easy to use, and provides all the essential features necessary to handle HTTP requests and execute CGI applications. Its ability to keep Apache-compatible The Common Logfile Format log files and use CGI instead of index.html makes it a valuable tool for developers.